Air distributing devices



C. DEMUTH AIR DISTRIBUTING DEVICES Aug. 26,- 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet -1 Filed Oct. 11, 1955 NVENTOR. CHARLEsDEmuTH.

Aug. 26, 1958 c. DEMUTH AIR DISTRIBUTING DEVICES Filed Oct. 11, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. CHA ELEIS Dsmurl-l. BY

A; ATTORNEYS.

g- 26, 1958 c. DEMUTH 2,848,935

AIR DISTRIBUTING DEVICES Filed Oct. 11, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.

CHA RL ES Dam UTl-l. BY

M, M, M

United States Patent i ea AIR DISTRIBUTING DEVICES I Charles. Demuth, Mineola, N. Y'., assignor; to Charles Demutlh &; Sons, Inc., Mineola, N. Y., a corporation of New-York This invention relates to air distributing devices and more particularly to distributors adapted to take off air from a running air duct common to a pluralityofdistributors.

In distributing air taken off from a running air duct through take-off pipes, it' is necessary for" best results to equalize the air flow through the individual take-off pipes in accordancewith one or more variable conditions, so that the air as it passes out ofsaid take-off pipes may be made tofiow in a-substantiallyuniformcross-sectional flow through each pipe. Itis'likewise necessary to diffuse the airas it passesout of each take-01f pipe so as to distribute it over the desired space; and because of varying space and outlet positions, the extent of diffusion should be variable.

An object of this invention is to provide a device of the character described, having improved means for 'meeting the requirements above set-forth, in such manner as to effect an efficient change in the direction of air flow from the horizontal flow in the'running air duct to anoutwardly and downwardly spiral flow at' the outlet end' of the device.

Another obj ectof 'theinvention is to: provide a: device of the character described so constructed andarranged as to facilitate-its manufacture and installationassembly.

A further object of-the invention istoiprovide adevice ofthe character described which has improved adjustable means for equalizing the air. as :itfiowsthroughthe takeoff pipe and for difiusing the airemergingtherefrom in accordance with varying requirements.

Further objects andadvantages of'the inventionwill more fully appear from the.following-descriptiontaken in connection with the accompanying drawings which show, by way of example, the presentpreferred embodiment of the. invention.

The invention consists of the novelfeatures and. arrangement'of parts-embodied, byway of example, ,in'the structure hereinafter described as illustrating-a. present preferred form of the invention, and the ;invention-will.be.

more particularly pointed outtinythe appended claims.

Referring more particularly to-the' drawings: Fig. 1 isa perspective view,partly in section, showing a distributing device embodying my invention; securedi to a running air: duct;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectionalviewtaken alongtheline 2-2 of Fig. 1, showing furtherstructural details;

Fig. 3'is a cross-sectional viewtaken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, showing further details;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional'view taken substantially-along the line 4-4 of Fig. 1, showing further. structural details of the device on a somewhat enlarged.

scale;

Fig. 5 is a view similar. to thelowerpartof Fig. 4, showing the parts .in a diiferent'position of adjustment;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view in .vertical elevation, showing on an enlarged scale further, details of certainof the parts shown in th .preceding figures;

Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 7-7 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken, at 8-8 of Fig. 6 showing further details of the parts;

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 8 showing the parts in a different position of adjustment; and V Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken at 1010' of Fig. 4 showing further details of the structure.

Referring more particularly to Fig. l: the running air. duct. is designated as 1. The distributing device is designated in general as 2' and is provided with a neck portion in the form of a cylindrical take-off pipe which, to facilitate production and assembly, preferably comprises a lower section 3 and an upper or extension section 4 whose lower end telescopically engages the. upper end of the pipe 3 and is secured thereto as by screws such as 4a (Figs. 6 and 7). The pipe 4 (Fig. 4) is provided at itsupper endwith a flange 5, adapted to be seated. against the lower wall of' the duct 1 and to be secured thereto by screws such as 6. A plurality of supporting straps such as. 7 have their lower ends off-set inwardly and secured to brackets such as 8 which are fastened, as by welding, to the interior of the pipe 3, the lower ends of the straps 7 being secured to the brackets 8- by means of screws and cooperating. nuts such as 9. The straps 7 extend upwardly above the flange 5 of pipe 4 and. are readily bendable from the dotted line portion to the solid. line position to provide portions 10 serving to support the take-off pipe. assembly from the lower wall of the duct 1; the upper end. of, the strap being conveniently supplied with spaced holes to. receive screws, which may conveniently be the screws such as, 6, serving to secure the flange 5 in. position.

A hood designated 13 is provided with a neck 11a, secured tothe. interior of the lower end of pipe 3,, as by screws 11b. The hood is slanted. downwardly and outwardly from the neck. llain generally conical form designated=1-1c and. terminates in an. outwardly horizontal extending skirt 11d.

A unit designated in its entirety as 13 is disposed in fixed horizontal position within pipe 3,. to be more particularly described below andin itspreferred form serves to adjustably support a diffuser unit. designated in. its entirety as 14 and which. will. be more fully described hereinafter.

Referring. more particularly to Figs- 4,. 3, and 6:. the unit 13 comprisesahub 15 provided with a. lower flange 16 to. which. are. rigidly. attached. asby welding 17' the inner ends of a plurality of radially extendinground'rods' such as 18whoseouter ends are rigidly secured to. the pipe3, so-that. the hub 15 isrigidly. supported at. the. axis of. the pipe 3 by means-of. the radially extending. rods 18; Each of the. rods 18 has a. corresponding; curved blade. suchas 19 and a pivotal. mounting, as. preferably effected (Fig. 7.)- by, having the lower end=v of the blade 19 pass substantially, tangentially over the rod 18, as at 19a; thence around the rod terminating in an endl19li which. issecured to the blade as-by welding. The. loop surrounding the. rod 18 serves to engage the rod. snugly providing'sufiicient frictionto hold theblade in adjusted angular. positionwhile permitting such. adjustment. The blades such as 19 are curved smoothly and continuously from the portionl9aupwardly and outwardly tothe. end which preferably presents a relatively thin or sharp edge. When the bladesare. set at a maximum angle to the axis of thehub 15, asshown in the lower. dotted position, their upper ends will be off-set a maximum distance in the horizontal direction from their corresponding rods 18 and will be directedupwardly a slight vertical distance-abovesaid rods 18., and when saidiblad'es arelset at= diminishing; angles, the. horizontal off-set'will'be correspondingly decreased and the vertical distance above the.

rods will be increased. This arrangement provides for adjustably deflecting the air moving downwardly through the take-off pipe 3 from a vertical toward a horizontal direction; and by separately adjusting the blades corresponding to the respective segments of the cylindrical cross-section of the pipe 3 the air flow may be adjusted with great flexibility to attain the desired distribution.

The diffuser unit 14 (Figs. 4 and 6) comprises a stem 20 adjustably supported from the hub sleeve through which the upper end of the stem passes. In its lowermost position of adjustment as shown in Fig. 4 the stem is supported by means of a washer 21 which rests on the upper end of the sleeve 15 and is secured against upward movement on the stem by a cotter pin 22. The upper end of the stem 20 is provided with an eccentric cam surface 20a (Figs. 6, 8 and 9), extending longitudinally along the stem 20 a suitable distance to permit the desired vertical adjustment of the stem 20. The sleeve 15 is provided with inwardly extending portions such as 15a between which and the intermediate circumferential portion of the cam surface 20a suflicient space is provided to permit sliding movement of the stem 20 within the sleeve 15 and limited angular motion between these parts; while serving to frictionally engage the cam surface toward the maximum diameter of the stem '20 upon angular rotation of the stem 20 in either direction. Accordingly, this permits axial adjustment of the unit 14 with respect to the pipe 3 and hood 11.

A series of hoops such as 23, in the present instance 3 (Figs. 2, 4 and 10) are disposed around the lower end of the stem 20, tangential thereto and to each other and tangential to the interior wall of pipe 3. The hoops 23 are fastened together at their points of tangency such as 24, preferably by welding, and thereby provide a socket 25 for slidably receiving the stem 20, to facilitate assembly and to center the hoop assembly within the pipe 3. The hoops 23 are free of attachment to the tangent points of pipe 3 to permit axial adjustment of the unit 14 relative to the pipe 3. The hoop assembly is prevented from angular movement on the stem 20 by means of a screw 26 which threadingly engages the stem 20. The diffuser unit 14 further comprises a series of downwardly and outwardly tapered successively smaller frustro-conical deflectors such as 27, 28 and 29 (Fig. 4). The uppermost deflector 27 is rigidly secured to and supported from the hoops 23 by means of brackets such as 30 (Fig. 2), whose upper ends are rigidly secured to the exterior vertical walls of hoops 23 and whose lower ends are bent outwardly and are rigidly secured to the upper surface of the deflector 27. The next lowermost deflector 28 is similarly supported by brackets such as 31, the upper ends of which are secured on the interior vertical walls of the hoops 23. The lowermost deflector 29 (Fig. 4) is provided with an axially disposed upwardly extending sleeve 32 through which the lower end of the stem 20 passes downwardly and is threaded on its lower end to receive a nut 33 by means of which the parts of the diffuser unit are clamped to the stem 20; the sleeve 32 engaging the lower end of the hoop socket 25 and clamping it against a washer 34 which is rigidly secured to the stem 20.

Each of the hoops is provided with a curved vane such as 35 (Figs. 2 and 4) disposed along the outer wall of the hoop and extending downwardly against the upper surface of the uppermost deflector 27; the curved vanes 35 being disposed in corresponding quadrants of the respective hoops 23 so as to deflect the air passing between the deflector 27 and hood 11 in a generally tangential direction with respect to the pipe 3.

The device above described provides a ready means for installation and adjustment. For example, in installing the device (Fig. 4), pipe extension 4 is placed in. register with an opening in the running air duct 1 and is secured in position by several screws 6. The takeoff pipe 3 is then put in telescopic position with the lower end of pipe 4 and is adjusted to the desired position, whereupon the upper ends 10 of the straps 7 are bent outwardly and downwardly against the interior of the lower wall of the duct 1 and secured in place by suitable screws or bolts (not shown) which may conveniently be some of the screws such as 6 which serve to hold the flange 5 of the pipe 4 against the duct.

The hood 11 is next secured in position (Fig. 4) on the lower end of pipe 3 by means of the screws 11b. Thereupon the upper end of the stem 20 of the diffuser unit 14 is inserted through the sleeve 15 of the radial blade unit 13, the washer 21 (Fig. 6) is placed over the end of the stem and is secured in position by the cotter 22.

After the device has been assembled as above described, the curved blades such as 19 are adjusted to the desired setting. If desired this may be done before the diffuser unit 14 is inserted in position, to be assured that the downwardly flowing current of air is being distributed throughout the takeoff pipe 3 to the best advantage. The frictional pivotal engagement of the blades 19 on their pivotal axes 18 serves to hold the blades in adjusted position. The diffuser unit 14 is then rotated to the position where it is free to slide within the sleeve 15 of the unit 13 and is adjusted to the desired vertical position, and thereafter the unit 14 is rotated so as to cause the projections 15a (Figs. 8 and 9) to lock against the cam surface 20a. In Fig. 4 the diffuser unit 14 is shown suspended in its lowermost position of adjustment; whereas in Fig. 5 it is shown locked in its uppermost position of adjustment.

Having thus described my invention with particularity with reference to a presently preferred form of the same, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art after understanding the invention, that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention, and it is my intention to cover in the appended claims such changes as come within the scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. In an air distributing device, the combination of a take-0E pipe for use as an outlet from an air duct, a sleeve axially disposed within said pipe, means supporting said sleeve in said take-off pipe, an outwardly and downwardly flaring hood secured to the lower end of said pipe, a diffuser unit provided with an axially disposed stem the upper end of which is slidably disposed within and supported by said sleeve, means for fastening said stem in its axially adjusted position within the said sleeve to thereby hold said diffuser unit in the desired vertical position within said hood, said diffuser unit comprising a series of downwardly and outwardly tapered successively smaller frusto-conical deflectors fixed in spaced apart relation to provide air passages, a series of hoops disposed around said stem within said pipe and substantially tangential thereto and to each other, said hoops being secured together substantially at their points of tangent contact to thereby provide an included socket embracing the lower end of said stem, the uppermost and next lowermost diffusers being rigidly secured to and supported by said hoops, the lowermost diffuser having an axially disposed upwardly extending sleeve through which the lower end of said stem extends, and a member threadingly engaging the lower end of said stem and serving to clamp said hoops to said stem and hold said diffuser unit in assembled condition.

2. In an air distributing device, the combination of a take-off pipe for use as an outlet from an air duct, a sleeve axially disposed within said pipe, means supporting said sleeve in said take-off pipe, an outwardly and downwardly flaring hood secured to the lower end of said pipe, a diffuser unit provided with an axially disposed stem the upper end of which is slidably disposed within and supported by said sleeve, means for fastening said stem in its axially adjusted position within the said sleeve to thereby hold said diffuser unit in the desired vertical position within said hood, said diffuser unit comprising a series of downwardly and outwardly tapered successively smaller frusto-conical deflectors fixed in spaced apart relation to provide air passages, a series of hoops disposed around saidstem within said pipe and substantially tangential thereto and to each other, said hoops being secured together substantially at their points of tangent contact to thereby provide an included socket embracing the lower end of said stem, the uppermost and next lowermost difiusers being rigidly secured to and supported by said hoops, the lowermost diffuser having an axially disposed upwardly extending sleeve through which the lower end of said stem extends, and a member threadingly engaging the lower end of said stem and serving to clamp said hoops to said stem and hold said dilfuser unit in assembled condition, said hoops also providing vertically extending peripheral walls disposed above said frustoconical diifusers, each of said hoops being provided with a curved vane following the general curvature of said hoop and extending downwardly below the lower end of said take-off pipe closely adjacent the tapered wall of the uppermost diffuser, said vanes being limited in circumferential extent and being disposed within the corresponding quadrants of said hoops so as to serve to direct the air current flowing over said uppermost diffuser outwardly in a direction generally tangential to said take-oil? pipe.

3. In an air distributing device, the combination of a take-01f pipe for use as an outlet from the lower wall of a running air duct, a hub axially disposed within said pipe, a plurality of rods secured at their inner ends to said hub and extending radially outwardly therefrom and having their outer ends secured to said pipe, a plurality of deflector blades having lower edges pivotally mounted on said rods as axes of rotation respectively, said blades being separately frictionally held in desired adjusted angular position by their respective pivotal mountings, a take-otf pipe extension whose lower end is telescopically slidably disposed on the upper end of said take-off pipe, the upper end of said extension being provided with an outwardly extending flange providing a means of attachment to the lower wall of said running air duct, a plurality of straps Whose lower ends are secured to the in terior wall of said take-off pipe and whose upper ends extend upwardly within said pipe and pipe extension beyond said pipe extension flange, said upper ends being readily bendable outwardly over said pipe extension flange at the desired weight therebeyond for supporting engagement on the peripherial margin of an opening in the lower wall of said air duct.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 150,383 Willging Apr. 28, 1874 2,097,078 Peabody Oct. 26, 1937 2,300,574 Jepertinger Nov. 3, 1942 2,365,867 Dauphinee Dec. 26, 1944 2,505,394 Goettl Apr. 25, 1950 2,577,569 Demuth Dec. 4, 1951 2,607,282 Gilbert Aug. 19, 1952 2,621,579 Person et al Dec. 16, 1952 2,630,053 Kennedy Mar. 3, 1953 2,711,127 ODay June 21, 1955 2,783,702 ODay Mar. 5, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 668,164 Germany Nov. 3, 1938 

